Teens Flout US Gambling Rules, Play Poker

by Edward Rogers, News Staff Writer

September 14, 2007

There is a small but growing subculture among American teens, which has its roots in online gambling. Rather than take a summer job toiling at the checkout till of a grocery store or folding clothes at the mall, some teens have discovered that playing poker at online casinos is a much more lucrative and entertaining way of making money. And these young card sharks aren’t going to let something as trifling at U.S. law stop them from accessing the internet casinos that host their poker games – they have found ways around the online casino rules.

Only offshore online casinos are allowed to do business with American citizens, thank to the controversial and much-disputed U.S. ban on online gambling – no domestic companies may do business on the World Wide Web. Furthermore, minors (under the age of eighteen) may not play in internet casinos at all. Teens have discovered, however, that neither regulation is a barrier. All they have to do is check a box verifying that they are of legal age, and get access to a credit card. Many buy Visa and MasterCard prepaid debit cards, and load them up with the funds they want to use at the online casino of their choice.

Some teens brag that they are clearing anywhere from forty to fifty dollars an hour through playing poker at online casinos, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Of course, the vast majority of young adults aren’t skilled enough at online gambling or any type at all – to do anything but lose money in internet casinos. For those who have a talent and a willingness to break the law, however, a “job” at an online casino beats waiting tables any day!
 

Back to CASINO NEWS